Baxter's headband

So, I have basically completely left our other two "kids", Baxter the dog and Tiger the cat, out of this blog...mostly because I already wrestle with feeling like I don't give each CHILD enough attention, much less the animals! So, they have unfortunately moved way down the totom pole as we filled our house with children (very quickly!)! But, we are really blessed to have two very sweet pets...They kept us very entertained during our first five years of marraige and have definitely enriched our lives...(Someone remind me of this next time I am complaining that Baxter barked and woke up one of the kids!)

Elise was dressing up this morning and felt that Baxter needed some accessories! Notice the headband around his "waist"! I am pretty sure that most 10 year old dogs would not put up with this, but Bax was a good sport...



He even laid down for a nap with it still on!!!

Free Music Friday

We went out to the trailhead again this Friday for the summer concert series...
It was as much fun as last time! All of the kids love music and enjoy being outside...
We ran into several friends and really enjoyed it...
Above you can see Elise and Ella dancing the night away...

Hope ya'll have a great weekend!
Love, Nicole

Ducky Joe's

We tried out this new indoor play house called Ducky Joe's on Thursday...It was great because they had a small area where Lila and Bennett could be confined, while playing and watching the older kids play... We met up with the Barrois clan and, as usual, the kids (and Kimberly and I)had a great time. Sydney Guice also played with us- she is so adorable. She just got a new baby brother, Deacon, a week and a half ago! Congrats Missy and Nathan!!
Above you can see Bennett and Camille checking out what the older kids are up to..



Camille and Lila hanging out...



Watching the bubbles...(they had a really neat bubble machine that released TONS of bubbles...they must just do it once a day or so...the kids LOVED it!)



Elise playing in the bubbles...

Hope everyone has a great weekend!
Love, Nicole

A typical day....

Elise always wants to help with her little brother and sister...Most days, when we are getting ready to eat, she helps me by entertaining them as they sit in their high chairs. Lila is definitely an easier audience, and always laughs at her big sis!



The "raspberry" (for lack of a better term) is the main form of communication between the siblings right now. Lila is the queen of the raspberry!



Elise "talking" to the babies...



Good ole laid back Bennett is just taking it all in....He has become much more vocal as well...he often says "Yeah"...or that is what I have translated it to... and if you reply he repeats himself! Elise also taught him how to scream and so now he has a way to release frustration- and, boy, does he ever! He makes little fists and screams in a very grunty voice...It is actually really cute! Or else I just think that because he is my son....

So, nothing ultra exciting going on around here, but even the quiet "boring" (HA!) days are fun and filled with memories...

Love, Nicole

A Great Weekend!

Our great weekend started with a fun dinner Friday night at Coscino's with the Barrois, Kitchen, and Brister families...It is such a great place to go with kids, and who can beat pizza and beer? The weather was horrible, so we weren't able to go to the Trailhead concert as we had originally planned...but we found another "concert" of sorts...
Ella, Elise, and Will loved the one man band...as you can see above...



Saturday morning I took Elise to Charlotte Richardson's 5th birthday party at the "My Little Teaparty" place in Mandeville. I can't believe Charlotte is already 5! deShea and David became good friends while working together years ago and now we are lucky enough to be neighbors and great friends as well. Above you can see Ella (a.k.a. Ariel), Constance (Charlotte's younger sister- a.k.a. Ballerina), and Elise (a.k.a. Jasmine) getting their make-up applied. Elise insisted on being Jasmine even though the costume was for about a 6 year old! I did some interesting pinning to keep her pants up!



The birthday girl dressed up in her High School Musical outfit. I am not yet familiar with the whole High School Musical/Hannah Montanah scene because right now we are still full-fledged obsessed with princesses! Guess I have that to look forward to later...



Here is a full shot of Jasmine (notice the HUMONGOUS pants!). Part of the party includes a fashion show where the girls get to show off their outfits! It is really cute...



Here are our two girls as we got ready to go to dinner again on Saturday night! BIG weekend! Aren't they looking JUST alike??
David helped Davis with a little project and so the Bristers were SOO generous to take us to get Mexican afterwards! We had so much fun doing dinner with them two nights in a row. Elise hasn't stopped talking about Davis and Suzanne since! She is predicting that the baby in Suz's belly is a boy- so we'll see...
On a funny note, I am glad I got the girls looking so cute in their matching outfits because not long after I took this picture Lila had a massive diaper that somehow managed to get not only on her, but on Elise, AND on me as well. So we all moved on to our second outfits of the day!!

This morning Elise and I went to church together and then had a Target trip...then David took Lila to Wal-Mart this afternoon! He has been searching everywhere for a jr. putter for Elise (he is teaching her golf already!) and he finally found one...I'm sure I'll be posting about that later..
Then we spent some time outside enjoying the nice weather and the baby pool while grilling hamburgers with my parents...

Nothing better than a weekend filled with family and friends...
Hope yours was great too!
Love, Nicole

This looks cool....

http://www.blurb.com/create/book/blogbook

This looks cool, but I haven't tried it yet so don't hold me to it!!
I am thinking it will be a good idea to do for Lila and Bennett's first birthday...

Good night!
Love, Nicole

Ballerina/Must See TV

Abigail and Amelia Spreen were nice enough to invite Elise to their ballet class today.
After a slow start she had a blast! Hopefully she'll be able to take dance in the future...



I love the tutus.....



Playing with the trampoline...



Playing with the parachute...



Meanwhile, the twins were back at home gearing up for "The Office" tonight!



Lila's onesie says, "Future Assistant to the Regional Manager"...



Bennett's says, "Big Tuna"...



And Elise is the "Future Mrs. Halpert"..

Can you tell their Dad is a big Office fan?

Shake My Booty

Friday night we took the kids to the free concert at the Trailhead in Mandeville. www.mandevilletrailhead.com
It was so much fun! Above is Elise in the process of "shaking her booty" - as she says.
We had a great time. She never wanted to stop dancing! Even Bennett and Lila enjoyed the music. The concerts are every Friday night this summer and so it will definitely be our Friday ritual...

Brothers and Sisters

Lila fixed Bennett's hair today. She used garden vegetables as hair product.
He does not look amused.



Meanwhile, Lila is very proud of herself.

Will post more later.
Love, Nicole

First Trip to the Dentist

One of my first failures as a Mother (I am sure there will be many to follow) is that I had not ever taken Elise to the dentist. There are several reasons for this, but none of them are really that good, so I won't bore you! We finally geared up for her big appointment today. Elise has SERIOUS issues with Doctor visits and so I had to approach this differently. Thank goodness Elise's "best-friend Ella" (as she calls her- she can never just say Ella) has a wonderful Mommy (Kimberly) that is also a dental hygienist. So, we went off to visit Ms. Kimberly at work! When we left the house (my unbelievable Aunt watched the twins for me) she was very excited. Well, soon she started to figure out that something was going on - as you can see from this look on her face!
One of my other first failures may have been allowing Elise to visit me when I was in the hospital with the twins. As I mentioned earlier, she has severe issues with Drs and Hospitals and the masks the nurses wear and this is the only thing I can think of. I think she can still remember how I looked and all of the weird tubes and the fact that I couldn't get out of bed. I was a little selfish- I missed her SOOO much that I convinced myself that her visiting me would be a good thing and she would see that happy things happen sometimes in hospitals, not just sad. Well apparently, that plan backfired!
Anyway, I am rambling today.
So, after a rough start (seeing the masks and the scrubs, etc), and LOTS and LOTS of patience from Kimberly, she was finally able to at least get a look at her teeth and put some fluoride on them. Elise quite liked the little suction thing that sucks all the fluoride out of your mouth.
The below picture is of her brushing the office's stuffed animal's teeth. She was very thorough- as always. My little OCD child.....LOVE her....

Another friend for Lila and Bennett - Jody Mai

I had to post this adorable pic of my friend Annie's sweet baby girl. She is 3 weeks old- what a cutie!! Annie was my first friend when I moved to Mandeville way back in the third grade. We grew up together and have been through a lot. I can't wait to meet Jody Mai!

Babies everywhere! I love it!!
They make me smile.....

Myrtis Elaine Mills - "Myrt"

Yesterday I was thrilled to meet my college roommate Kate England (now Kate Mills) and her husband Nick's precious baby girl, Myrt. She was born at St. Tammany hospital at 8:45 and weighed 7lbs 3oz and was 18 inches long. She is absolutely gorgeous! It is always heartwarming to watch new parents with their babies and I was so excited to be a welcome visitor.
It seems like yesterday that Kate and I were freshman at Millsaps and living on the same hall! Kate's outgoing personality was so welcoming, and I was so thankful that I met her right when we started college. How amazing that more than 12 years later we are both living in Mandeville?
It is such a blessing...

Elise

I know Elise will kill me for this one day, but I had to post this picture. The look on her face cracks me up. She is quite the entertainer these days. Sometimes she crosses the line from funny to sassy, but, for the most part, she is just REALLY funny. From telling me "Use the right words, Mom" (wonder where she has heard that before??) to performing her songs while requesting that her picture be taken, I could go on and on....
Last night she told me it was my turn to sing. She then went and got her princess camera and came back to take my picture...I started to sing and she said, "not YET, Mom...wait until I say go!!!" then said, "set, go!"
It was a lot of fun...

Hope ya'll are enjoying your weekend!
Love, Nicole

10 Months!

I can't believe Lila and Bennett are 10 months today. It has gone by so fast. They are getting so big and it is so much fun watching more and more of their little personalities come out....I thought this picture captured what has been going on around here lately. In most cases, Lila is the leader and Bennett follows her around. They are getting pretty fast! I know they'll be walking before I know it!

Happy Tuesday.

Love , Nicole